The Danger of Relying on Facebook

The Danger of Relying on Facebook

Last Tuesday, the world freaked out because of a glitch in the internet.

Specifically Facebook’s parent company Meta, and most of their affiliated social and internet related sites and features became inoperable starting around 10am eastern time.

I am actually writing this on Tuesday March 5th, two hours later and it’s still down on laptops, but currently working on my phone via the app.

The ramifications for the ordinary, everyday user is just an inconvenience.  I can live without Facebook, Instagram, Threads even though I post daily, it’s not like a primary source of marketing or making money for me personally.

However, for others, this kind of thing is costly.  Imagine not being able to do business because people could not reach you.  It will be interesting to see if there will be an estimate of the millions of dollars lost due to the Meta platforms being down for a few hours.  Considering the size of Facebook alone, I imagine over a billion dollars in lost revenue.  

I pulled some numbers from the website, The Social Sheperd that say there are over 3 Billion monthly Facebook users world-wide. 2 Billion people are on Facebook daily.  In the United States, over half the population has a Facebook account and 7 out of 10 Americans who use the internet are on Facebook too.   I have a couple of coworkers that fall into the category of internet users but not on Facebook.

From a business standpoint, I had a client a few years ago that lost at least a weeks worth of revenue what Facebook decided to shut down his business account.  He was spending $20,000 a month just on Facebook ads and getting a 4 to 1 return.  Fortunately he was able to scramble and rebrand his business and build it up again with money he had saved up, but many business people that place such a heavy emphasis on marketing platforms they can’t control are stuck when that platform fails like Facebook did

My advice has always been to create your own spot on the web, something you own.  Your own website, not just a social media page.  I know it’s tempting to just rely on the easy way but if it’s also a lazy way, you could be sunk.

One more success story to share with you, and this is about an HVAC company that has been around for 10 years without a website or social media.  I met with the owner recently because he is looking to invite WOWO radio listeners to become his customers.  I asked him the secret to his successful growth over the past decade without the usual online presence and it came down to having good relationships with a few key people in town that have kept him and his company busy.  The good old fashioned trusted word of mouth that you earn when you run your business right.

Now in order to invite our listeners to become his customers, he’s going to invest in a basic website which we can direct listeners to and will give his company credibility to those that don’t know him yet.

What about you?  Are you needing some guidance and help on how to market your business?  Contact me and let’s talk.

Own Your Space

Own Your Space

Here we are in the summer of 2022 and due to some recent business meetings I’ve had, I need to give you a piece of advice that I’ve said repeatedly over the years.

Own Your Space.

Not just any space, but your space online.

This applies to you as a person and if you have a business.

A dozen years ago, I was showing college students how I created my own personal brand, the ScLoHo brand with a couple of blogs that I updated every single day.

Then 11 years ago, my friend Kevin challenged me to create my own space, not for the ScLoHo brand, for me, Scott Howard.

And so I did.  It took a few months but I invested in my own website instead of using the free blogger sites from Google.  This is that website I created in 2011.

It looks much different than the first version.  The domain name, ScottHoward.me, was selected because the dot com version of my name was already taken.  So while the layout and design have evolved over the years, this website has been consistently been the Space I Own.

Recently I’ve seen business start-ups that don’t have their own website, they are relying on socials.  You don’t have a real business, you’ve got a hobby.  Until you spend a few hundred bucks, buy a domain and create a simple landing page, at the bare minimum, you aren’t real.

Not in today’s world at least.  Look, you don’t even have to use it to run your business, but if your own website doesn’t exist, neither does your business as legit.

I’m not into building websites anymore, but I can connect you with the people I trust.  Believe me, I want you to succeed, and there are always a few exceptions to most any rule, but do yourself a favor and get Your Own Space now, for your business and also for your own personal branding.

Are You Missing?

Are You Missing?

A decade ago, I took a break from working in radio to work full-time for a website development firm that had some cutting edge technology back in 2011.

My job was to find companies that needed website upgrades and introduce them to our platform so we could bring them into what was then the current version of the internet age.

A new website could cost $20,000 for a simple landing page up to well over 100 grand for an eCommerce site.

These days, you can hire a professional to build you nearly anything you need for under $50,000.  I have a few connections that I trust to do the work for a tenth of that, depending on what your needs are.

Yet, I am amazed at the number of businesses that are missing online.

What do I mean by missing?

Well first off, I should be able to find you with a simple Google Search for your business name.

Google tries to be your friend by providing businesses with free listings so that when I am looking for you, I can find you.

And by find, I mean find your website, your location including directions, your phone number and whatever else would be appropriate.

Yet there are still too many businesses that seem to be ignoring the internet because they don’t show up when I Google them.

Similar circumstances with Facebook.  Too many of you don’t exist.

Now I’m not a tech wizard nor am I a web designer, or even an expert in Search Engine Optimization anymore.  Consider me your average potential customer who is just looking to connect with you or one of your competitors because I have a question that requires your expertise.   Or maybe I have money to spend right now and I just need to connect with you and give you my money in exchange for the product or service you provide.

But you are missing when I ask my phone to find you, or my laptop to send me to your website.

To me, I find this shocking, that a business is still invisible online.

This violates one of the very basics of marketing.  You need to be able to be found.

Stop ignoring this and either pay someone or do it yourself, but create a way for people like me to find you online.

Also, if you have not updated your website, or updated your social media this year, (or longer)… do it.  Our whole world has gone through numerous changes since the pandemic began over 18 months ago and I’m sure your business has too.  Update your hours, and other policies we need to know and want to know.  Even if it’s back to business as usual, tell us that too.

One more tip and this is for you as an individual:

Don’t be missing online personally.  You don’t have to create your own website like I did years ago, but you might want to.  At the very least, get on social media.  Create a LinkedIn profile, Go ahead and  get on Facebook.  Those two are the most important for adults who want to be found.

Sure, you can also use Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and others but don’t ignore Facebook and LinkedIn because those are the two primary social media channels still for grown-ups.

Are you missing?

If you are, what are you missing?

And are you going to do something about it?

P.S.

Everything you just read I wrote on Sunday 10/3/21 and used as the script for this weeks podcast.

Then the next day, Monday 10/4/21 Facebook.com goes down.  I mean for several hours, you cannot connect to Facebook and some of their other holdings like Instagram.  Does this mean that you should NOT use Facebook?

No, it just means you should not use Facebook exclusively.  As I am writing this on Monday afternoon and Facebook is still down, I have full confidence in Facebook coming back online.  This is just an unfortunate hiccup that will cost them some money in lost revenue.  However, for the businesses that only rely on Facebook or Instagram to be found online, this will have a much more serious impact.

Go back and read what I wrote in its entirety and then do it.

Why Some Businesses Fail

Why Some Businesses Fail

You may have heard the myth that half of all businesses fail within the first year, and only 5% make it through four years. According to recent figures from the Small Business Administration, a government agency created to help small businesses start and succeed, nearly two-thirds of new businesses survive past two years and only slightly over half (56%) of businesses fail in the first four years.

No matter how long you have been in business, there are valuable lessons to be learned from the successes and failures of these new business start-ups.

One of the most surprising critical success factors we can learn from businesses which succeed is, not to go into business to get rich.

Ironically, the businesses which do get rich today are the businesses which start with a passion for filling a customer need…the “getting rich” appears to follow those businesses that have a passion for serving customers. Henry Ford’s higher purpose was to make the automobile affordable for the average consumer. His assembly line brought down costs and achieved his goal.  Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs began with the sole purpose of creating a more user-friendly computer. The rest is history.

The second lesson in today’s economy is you must have a website. A well-designed website makes it easy for users to discover what you offer or do, and why you are their best choice. Do not rely on prospects finding your site by searching for what you sell. Promote your name and website so that prospects search your business name rather than searching what you sell. Inputting what you sell into a search engine will invariably reveal all of your competitors as well. Your advertising needs to create a preference for your business, your name, and your website.

What I just shared with you is from my Sound ADvice weekly marketing tips newsletter that was emailed to subscribers a few weeks ago.  You can get a free subscription by filling out the form below and soon you’ll get it once a week too.  Plus the news letter has a link to additional tips pertaining to each weeks subject.

Right now I have another tip for you that relates to what I just shared about Why Businesses Fail.

The third lesson is this. You need a marketing strategy that goes beyond the internet.  You need to invite people to visit you.  Something that builds Top Of Mind Awareness so when they have a need for what you are selling and they look online for your website, they look for your business, not your competitors. 

I have just the answer for that if you are looking for customers in metro Fort Wayne, Indiana and your ideal customers are adults, not kids. My radio station, WOWO radio of course.  Every month I work with businesses that are decades old and also start ups.  Contact me and let’s start a conversation.

[wd_hustle id="sound-advice-sign-up" type="embedded"]
How Realistic Are Your Expectations?

How Realistic Are Your Expectations?

Today I am am going to challenge your thinking about advertising and marketing.

We are going to talk about the expectations you have for your advertising and marketing.

It comes in different forms, depending on the lingo and verbage you use, but it comes down to one thing:

How Realistic Are Your Expectations?

Sometimes we look at the Return On Investment of advertising and come up with a formula.

Other times we look at the Gross Profit Margin as a way to calculate the success of an advertising campaign.

Some businesses use a % of last years sales as the amount of dollars that they will spend this year and think that is the magic formula.

Others go by the seat of their pants and will buy the bright shiny object that someone is selling that promises to make them rich.

Do you fall into any of these categories?

I admit that I have fallen into all of those categories both personally and professionally at times.

Several years ago, I was caught up in being a first adopter when it came to tech.  It came to a screeching halt after I spent $800 bucks on a new phone that I really didn’t need, but it was the newest and the best for at least 30 days.

I returned that phone when reality hit and changed my ways back to my usual research based approach way of buying stuff and adopting stuff into my life.  I do the same for my clients too.

There’s an old saying in the advertising business:

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

That quote is credited to John Wanamaker. He was a very successful United States merchant, religious leader and political figure, considered by some to be a “pioneer in marketing”. He opened one of the first and most successful department stores in the United States, which grew to 16 stores and eventually became part of Macy’s.  He’s been dead for nearly 100 years but that quote lives on.

During the 50 years that I’ve been living, businesses and marketers have been wrestling with figuring out which half of their advertising is wasted.  We have come up with various schemes to track the results or formulas like I mentioned to make us feel better but I’m going to challenge the entire notion that half of your advertising is wasted.

In some circles they divide the type of advertising you can do as direct advertising and brand building advertising.

The direct advertising people have used multiple methods to track their results including:

  1. A coupon that has a discount that consumers use and the business can track
  2. A special phone number that is only used in one form of advertising so any calls coming to that phone line is attributed to that ad
  3. A secret phrase that a customer says to get a special offer or special savings

These methods of direct advertising were being used in the John Wanamaker days in newspaper ads, and later phone book and direct mail ads.  Broadcast ads on radio and television have used them.  They were being used before the World Wide Web and internet advertising options came about 25 years ago.

Our lives are now connected with the smartphones that even the homeless population have.

The area of advertising and marketing that has continued to attract more and more businesses each year is still the bright and shiny world of online ads.

Radio, TV, and Print ad sales have either seen declines or remained steady in the past dozen years while those trying the digital marketing world continue to see double digit percentage growth.

Promises of, “we can target your ads to the right people and prove to you that your dollars are making you rich” and “we can track it all with pixels and our analytic dashboards”…  Sadly those are empty promises.

I know.

I have spent considerable time in this advertising and marketing world working from the inside out.  I know that the intentions of the digital marketers is good, but I also know that it falls short.  Way short of the promises.  Those promises were made to eliminate the wasted advertising and only spend money on the advertising that works.

Theoretically, it should work.  But in the real human world it falls short.

In my current position with WOWO radio, I have access to a whole host of online marketing options.  Our company, Federated Media, has invested a considerable amount of resources in time, people and money to create the division we call Federated Digital Solutions.

My first year with WOWO, I took a cautious approach and let my co-workers sell our Digital Solutions to their clients before I offered them to my advertising partners.  I wanted to see the success stories of what I could offer before I recommend them to my trusted ad partners. By year two, I started offering them and in years 3 and 4, more and more of my radio advertising clients were also using our online digital marketing solutions.  Some use our digital marketing without using WOWO radio.

Now that I’ve completed 5 full years at WOWO, I have several success stories in the digital ad world that I can share with you.

I must caution you: The value of Direct Marketing is overblown as it is not as easy to measure as the sellers claim and Branding by itself without giving a buyer an easy path to follow to make a purchase can be a waste.  It takes a combination of these two schools of thought to create a long term success.

Why?

Two reasons:

First off the measurement of Direct Marketing is actually flawed, sometimes given more credit that it deserves.  I have a WOWO Radio client that switched to a nationally known digital marketing company.  This national company broke their own rules regarding consistency for Name, Address, Phone number listing that is actually a common rule of thumb according to Google itself.  The rule of consistency is that you want your Name, Address and Phone Number to be the same, consistently all over the web including your own website.  This national company has hijacked my clients website to place a tracking phone number on the website and all other listings online that it can get its hands on.

What this means is that no matter what drove a customer to find my client, the phone number that they will find online is not the true business phone number, but the special tracking number.  And the national digital marketing company is claiming credit for any and all calls that come in on that special tracking number.

Also, if you do a deep dive into Google Analytics, which most people don’t, you will find all kinds of weird website traffic coming from spammers and bots.

Finally, and this is something I learned a couple years ago, there are limitations in the ability to track connections between secure and insecure websites and all those apps that we have on our phones that have paid ads on them? Google can’t track those either.

What was once the almighty gold standard in tracking your direct marketing online, is not really doing that great of a job.

That’s just the first reason.

Here’s the second.

We are human and direct marketing usually ignores the Human Relationship Marketing Principles that are impossible to accurately track.

Honestly, we don’t know consciously why we buy one brand over another.  When we go to the store and are faced with a dozens of choices of cookies to buy, we already have narrowed it down in our minds to a small handful.

Certain brands of cookies are superior to me and that list could be totally different from your list of favorite cookies.  You make like peanut butter, I may like soft chocolate chips, and even with those two distinctly different options, each of us have a favorite in the category that we want.

This is due to branding.  We recognize the brand and our human emotions move us to grab the cookies that we want based on our own personal experiences, recommendations from friends and family, and yes, advertising messages.  Branding creates Top Of Mind Awareness, or TOMA which places one company or one cookie over another in our own personal preferences.  This is the Human Relationship side of the buying that direct marketing usually ignores.

That 50% of marketing that John Wanamaker wished he knew was wasted, wasn’t wasted at all.  It was probably building the Macy’s brand which has survived to this day.  Macy’s Thanksgiving day Parade which began two years after the death of Wanamaker has been one of their most successful branding marketing campaigns for more than 90 years.

Let’s wrap this up with this caveat. I know that with a lot of companies there is a lot of wasted money spent on advertising, but it’s usually not because they are investing in branding.

My offer to you is to help you evaluate your marketing and advertising and see where the true waste is.  Afterward, we can come up with recommendations for improvement and most importantly set realistic expectations.

Contact me.

[wd_hustle id="sound-advice-sign-up" type="embedded"]